Chapter 715

"What? You're telling us to go take out the three in S. . . . . . first? If there are three in S. . . . . . too, that's six total!

Stark slapped his forehead, then heard Nick's stern voice come through the line:

"You have no idea how much trouble he's caused S. . . . . .! He fabricated financial reports, violated personnel protocols, participated in illegal human experiments… and worse—he has no morals!"

"I can't think of enough bad words to describe him. Avengers, it's your duty to take down people like this. Get here fast and arrest him!"

After hanging up, Stark spoke in a grim tone: "As I suspected—there are three more in S. . . . . . That means we're facing six Shilers altogether."

"The question now is, does each Shiler have unique abilities?" Steve asked, then added: "If every Shiler can turn into gray mist, we're in trouble."

"Don't even say that—I'm already getting a headache," Matt sighed. "If they all turn into mist, we can't catch any of them. Who can grab a cloud?"

"Anyway, we need to find him and ask first. If we can resolve this peacefully, all the better. But if we have to use force…" Stark drew out the word, then said to JARVIS: "Prepare vacuum cleaners—every model you've got!"

Hearing Stark had a way to contain Shiler, the others breathed easier—until they realized things were far more complicated.

Just as the Avengers prepared to collectively investigate Arkham Sanatorium, Peter paused, turned to Stark, and said: "Just now, Spider-Silk contacted me through the Spider-Net—Spider-People across the multiverse have been assigned to capture Shiler."

"What Spider-Silk? What multiverse?" Stark eyed him up and down. "Peter, did you stay up all night gaming again? Now you're talking nonsense."

Peter froze, then remembered—the Stark he'd met in the future had completely forgotten he'd ever visited the multiverse. He probably didn't know now.

Because Peter had traveled to the future earlier, he hadn't witnessed the universe's reboot. He didn't know Stark had been reset to the state before all events occurred—and thus had no memory of it.

He had to spend a long time explaining how it all worked, then heard Stark say: "We're going after Shiler to understand what's happening—and to make sure these many different Shilers don't harm the world."

"But the Spider-People you mentioned are under some eternal mandate to capture Shiler—they likely want to kill him. I won't let them enter our universe."

Steve chimed in: "We want to fix the chaos Shiler's caused—or prevent future chaos. Everyone knows if even a few of these Shilers go rogue, it'll be disastrous. But we don't want to eliminate him."

"If Spider-People from other universes are manipulated into killing Shiler, that's a problem. Not just because they might fail—but if they provoke him and a fight breaks out, Earth still gets destroyed."

"That's why I'm going," Peter said firmly. "If they try to hurt Doctor Shiler, I'll stop them the moment they move."

Stark and Steve leaned close, staring at Peter. Stark whispered: "Sounds like that multiverse is dangerous. Is it really safe for him to go?"

"I doubt it. He's just starting college. Where are your armors? And Stephen's magic? The demon pact? The symbiotes? Give him as much as you can—even if he doesn't use it, just in case…"

Stark nodded deeply, then snapped his fingers: "Come on, kid. Back to Stark Tower. You're not leaving without proper prep…"

"No! Wait! Mr. Stark… I already have everything. I mean—I've got plenty prepared. There's really no need to—"

Ten minutes later, Peter appeared at the Spider-People's base, glowing all over. The moment he landed, everyone noticed—he looked like a blazing light orb.

Peter sighed deeply. The Amazing Spider-Man stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and said: "Back for another charge? Looks like you brought more gear—perfect timing."

"Don't mention it," Peter muttered, then spotted a familiar figure in the crowd—Chang Parker.

"See that guy?" The Amazing Spider-Man nodded toward him. "He's changed—he's acting more like Peter Parker now. I told you before, someone was impersonating him. You didn't believe me. Now it looks like they switched back."

"But where did the Ultimate Spider-Man go?" Peter asked, puzzled. In his gut, though that Ultimate Spider-Man was overly violent, he wasn't evil. If he vanished, Peter felt it was a shame.

Chang Parker walked over, but Peter stepped back. "What are you doing? You wanna fight again?"

"No—I'm sorry. I was reckless before. I shouldn't have fought you. We should unite—for the greater good." Chang reached out to pat Peter's shoulder—when suddenly, a familiar voice crackled from the device on his wrist, resembling a transmitter:

"Don't apologize. He nearly broke off your tentacles. I say you hit him again—he's probably drained!"

From the tone, it was clearly the same entity that had controlled Chang. Peter flexed his wrist and stared at Chang: "Fine. Let's fight again."

"Enough," said the Cosmic Spider-Man, stepping between them. He turned to Peter: "I was just about to tell you this—remember that mission I mentioned?"

"I came here to ask about it," Peter replied, looking at him.

"Eternity revealed more. He said Doctor Shiler Rodriguez's dreams contain things that shouldn't exist in this universe—things that could cause cosmic collapse."

The Cosmic Spider-Man's tone was grave—no lie. Peter frowned deeply.

"He told me there should've been only one Shiler Rodriguez in the entire multiverse. But somehow, he created many dream universes—and punched a hole in their boundaries, letting all those dream versions escape."

"These versions drastically destabilize the universe. If we don't bring them back, chaos will erupt."

"But we can't harm Doctor Shiler," Peter insisted. "He's a good man. He's saved countless lives, changed so many destinies…"

"I know. Calm down," the Cosmic Spider-Man sighed. "Eternity told me we must capture these dream-universe Shilers—but not harm him."

"Why?" asked the Shadow Spider-Man in black.

"Precisely—we must avoid excessive interaction. If we can capture him without ever showing ourselves, that's ideal."

The Cosmic Spider-Man kept changing hand gestures, struggling to explain Eternity's message to the others.

"Simply put—our universe has stability. If beings that don't belong here enter, stability drops. Once it hits a critical threshold, the universe collapses."

"But this instability isn't caused by those strange beings damaging things—it's caused by their interaction with original universe entities."

"The longer they interact, the faster stability drops. So our goal isn't to destroy them or prevent damage—it's to prevent any interaction with beings in this universe."

"That's why capturing him must be as simple as possible. Ideally, we set traps, stay hidden, never see him, never speak to him, never hear him—just send him back to his original universe."

"If we all fight him, stability plummets. And the more we force him to reveal his unnatural traits—the more he deviates from this universe's norms—the faster stability drops."

The Cosmic Spider-Man spoke in one long breath. Everyone was stunned.

Peter understood—but had no idea how it worked. Before he could ask more, the Cosmic Spider-Man said: "For certain reasons, Eternity can't explain further—otherwise stability drops too. Anyway, we've been given a brutal mission…"

"We must return all Shiler Rodriguezes to their original dream universes—using the simplest method possible. It requires three steps."

"First: locate his original dream universe. Second: capture these runaway Shilers and send them back. Third: seal the hole in the dream universe's boundary—so he can't escape again."

"Sounds as easy as putting cheese in the fridge," said the Amazing Spider-Man. But Peter stood frozen. "... ou must be dreaming."

"Except the first step is slightly easier—the other two are hellish. We can't even show ourselves. How do we capture Doctor Shiler?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"Don't worry—Eternity gave me some weaknesses. We can exploit them to set traps. For example—he turns into gray mist. We can use high-gravity devices to suck him into a containment unit. That's right—vacuum cleaners…"

"Vacuum cleaners?" Peter grimaced. He felt this method was absurdly crude.

But surprisingly, every other Spider-Person agreed. Soon, the team's top scientists—including Peter, personally certified by the Amazing Spider-Man as a genius—began jointly designing a vacuum-trap.

As Peter joined the experiment, he grew focused. Before long, they built a prototype vacuum trap and planned to test it on a Shiler from another universe.

"Go to my universe," came Otto's voice from Chang's wrist device. "After I returned, I spotted a suspicious figure on New York surveillance cameras. He's not a native—he's your Shiler."

"Fine. But I'll be there the whole time. I need to make sure this machine doesn't hurt Doctor Shiler," Peter said firmly.

Without delay, several Spider-People carried the compact vacuum trap, using web-slinging portals to reach Chang's universe.

They landed on the roof of Parker Industries Tower—the tallest building in New York, offering a full view of the city.

"That suspicious figure always appears at dusk. He loves standing on the edge of tall buildings, overlooking the city. We can place the trap on the rooftop he frequents—he'll likely step on it."

Otto proposed the simplest method. Chang Parker, controlled by Peter, agreed: "I think it's fine. Let me check… this building. Let's set the trap here."

"I still think you're oversimplifying everything," Peter sighed, shaking his head—but said no more.

After setting the trap, the other Spider-People stationed themselves on Parker Industries' roof, each with a pair of binoculars, watching the target building.

At dusk, the massive sun rested on the horizon, bathing New York in golden haze. Suddenly, a tiny black dot appeared in the sky.

Then, like a rootless leaf, it drifted slowly downward, appearing minuscule against the sunset's glow.

Soon, he stood on the edge of a rooftop, gazing over the city. Peter peered through his binoculars—and gasped: "His eyes! His eyes—how—"

But at that moment, the Cosmic Spider-Man noticed the target wasn't standing on the trap's building. He ordered: "Execute Plan B!"

Instantly, Spider-People emerged from rooftops all around—Plan B: surround and corner the target into the trap.

At the Cosmic Spider-Man's command, countless Spider-People leapt into the air, forming a circle, closing in on the figure.

Peter reached out, shouting: "Wait! Something's wrong! Don't go near him!"

Instantly, the tiny silhouette—backlit by the setting sun—rose into the air, spun like a falling leaf, then plummeted. A cold voice echoed across New York's skyline:

"Shinra Tensei!"